The Minister for Finance, Piyush Goyal, has suggested a budget of Rs 5,831.48 crore ($877 million) for India’s textile sector for the upcoming financial year which marks a 16 percent decrease from the budget for this current financial year.

The upcoming financial year could see a reduced budget for India’s textile sector Minister Goyal has proposed that government textile spending drops from Rs 6,943.26 crore, the total for the current financial year, to Rs 5,831.48 crore for the upcoming financial year, 2019 to 2020. This marks a significant decrease in spending allocated to the Ministry of Textiles, as reported by the Press Trust of India. Minister Goyal proposed the figure to Parliament on Feb. 1.

"The low allocation for ATUF & ROSL schemes for textiles is worrisome as it is clearly not sufficient to meet obligations under the schemes, both backlog and expected fund requirements in 2019-20,” the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry Chairman, Sanjay Jain, said, reported by the Press Trust of India. "However, since this is an interim budget, we hope more funds will be allocated for these schemes."

Goyal’s proposal of a reduced budget for the textile sector could come as a surprise to some considering the numerous government schemes proposed and already in place for the textile sector. The government has been vocal about its commitment to the industry, especially as part of its “Make in India” campaign. This election year will play a part in deciding what is next for the industry.